The present invention relates generally to displays for aircrafts, and more particularly to an integrated display for displaying information from a plurality of sources, as well as indicating the relationship between selected information.
Navigation information provided to pilots in early commercial airplanes was typically in the form of bearing and distance information displayed on an electromechanical flight instrument. The source of the information usually was a navigation radio transmitter located on the ground. Onboard navigation radios would receive the signal and process the information for display on the electromechanical flight instrument. This navigation equipment was designed within standard industry tolerances so that navigation accuracy for each type of navigation radio was well known and airspace procedure designers could allocate blocks of airspace based on the expected accuracy of the navigation equipment.
For oceanic travel, or in remote areas not serviced by navigation radio transmitters, such that signals could not be received by onboard navigation radios, inertial reference systems (IRS) were developed to provide reasonably accurate navigation information to pilots. Airspace procedure designers for routes in these areas also relied upon expected industry standards for navigation accuracy of these systems.
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including the Global Positioning System (GPS), were introduced in the 1990""s. These systems provided increased navigation accuracy for commercial airplanes compared to both navigation radios and IRS. Modern Flight Management Computer Systems (FMCS) were developed with the capability to generate an integrated navigation solution using inputs from the navigation radios, IRSs and GNSSs.
A further development was the introduction of additional navigation standards, including the creation of the concepts of Required Navigation Performance (RNP) and Actual Navigation Performance. With these concepts, airspace procedure designers could create procedures with the flexibility of different levels of airplane navigation accuracy or Actual Navigation Performance, and assign each procedure an RNP with which the airplane must comply in order to legally fly the procedure. FMCSs were developed with the capability of predicting a circular error of probability within which the airplane was expected to be almost all of the time (e.g., 95%), which probability estimate is the Actual Navigation Performance of the airplane.
The capabilities of the FMCSs were further expanded to allow manual entry of an RNP (e.g., by a pilot). The FMCS continuously monitors the relationship of Actual Navigation Performance to the RNP and provides a warning indication (e.g., an alert message) to the pilot if an exceedance occurs, for example, if the Actual Navigation Performance exceeds the predetermined RNP limit.
The concepts of Actual Navigation Performance and RNP have increased design flexibility, but are difficult to visualize by a pilot. Aircraft displays configured for providing Actual Navigation Performance and RNP information fail to provide an overall picture of the navigation system. For example, current FMCSs only provide a digital display of Actual Navigation Performance and RNP. Additionally the status, number and type of systems that contribute information to the FMCS, which ultimately result in the navigation solution, and the associated Actual Navigation Performance, are not easily discernable in current commercial airplanes. Further, the status and number of operating components that affect the navigation performance are displayed in a variety of locations forcing the pilot to visualize (e.g., deduce from several locations) the overall status of the navigation system in order to determine this information. Also, some navigation components can be turned off to prevent them from contributing to the navigation solution of the FMCS (e.g., GPS and/or VOR), which adds a further layer of complexity for a pilot trying to determine specific navigation information.
For example, on the Boeing(copyright) 747(copyright), 757(copyright), 767(copyright), and 777(copyright) airplanes, information about navigation performance and system status is displayed on several pages of a Control Display Unit (CDU), including POS REF pages and REF NAV DATA pages. On the Boeing(copyright) 737(copyright) airplane, the status of some of the navigation system components is captured on two display formats called the NAV STATUS and NAV OPTIONS page on the FMCS CDU. On these displays, the pilot can determine information regarding specific navigation components. However, the information is only displayed in digital format and a pilot must still create a mental model of the entire navigation system picture. Further, a pilot may still have to determine additional information from other display screens. Also, the relationship between different information, for example, Actual Navigation Performance and RNP is displayed in digital format. Thus, a pilot must again determine the total navigation system xe2x80x9cpicturexe2x80x9d of the relationship between the information provided by specific components because there is no single graphical display for providing this information.
In addition to developments in aircraft navigation systems, communication systems were also developed to facilitate and improve aircraft flight. Early communication systems were supported exclusively by Very High Frequency (VHF) radios configured for data transmission. Improvements and advances in communication technology allowed for satellite communications (SATCOM) systems and High Frequency (HF) radios to support data communications in flight. The amount and type of information that is now exchanged between a commercial airplane and facilities on the ground has grown to a point that the pilot may have to search several locations in order to determine where and how data is being communicated to and from the airplane. This may include determining the type of communications systems (e.g., SATCOM, VHF or HF) that are enabled, the frequencies on which these systems are operating and the status of alternate communications paths in the event of a lost connection or component failure.
As a result of the increased flow of information to and from commercial aircrafts, the use of more complex systems in commercial airplanes, such as Data Link, is becoming increasingly widespread. Airline companies now routinely transmit flight planning, weather, airplane performance and administrative information electronically to airplanes around the world. This information, in combination with navigation information from the GNSSs, provide more reliable data for use in maintaining a flight course within a predetermined flight plan and/or to more easily change the flight course based upon external conditions (e.g., unexpected weather changes). Further, a variety of onboard communications systems have been developed to provide connectivity with airline ground facilities through Data Link service providers. Thus, the use of electronic information for air traffic control (i.e., communication and navigation control) of airplanes is growing.
For example, on airplanes prior to the Boeing(copyright) 777(copyright), data communications tasks were distributed among a number of onboard systems. On the Boeing(copyright) 777(copyright), the data communications functions were consolidated and a xe2x80x9cmanagerxe2x80x9d function was provided that allows the pilot to evaluate the system status and reconfigure the system if desired. However, the total data communications system xe2x80x9cpicturexe2x80x9d must still be determined (i.e., visualized) by the pilot because there is no single overall display (e.g., graphical display) that shows the status of the radio equipment (e.g., SATCOM, VHF, and HF), including the active components receiving information. Further, no depiction or representation of which types of data communications are currently linked with an external system is provided.
Thus, although the amount of navigation and communication information available for use during flight has increased, thereby facilitating aircraft control, accessing this information is often difficult and/or tedious. Further, the information is displayed such that an overall xe2x80x9cpicturexe2x80x9d of the system (e.g., combined status of various components) is not available.
The present invention provides a complete integrated picture of the various systems onboard an aircraft to thereby provide intuitive and comprehensive navigation situational awareness and data communications situational awareness for the pilot of a modern commercial airplane. In particular, information regarding the onboard navigation system, including which components are functioning, which components are receiving external data, which components are connected to the FMCS and contributing to the navigation solution and the relationship between actual and required navigation system performance is provided on a single display. Further, information regarding the onboard data communications system, including which components are functioning and which components are receiving external data or transmitting data is also provided on a single display. The invention also provides a picture of the navigation system operation and connectivity, and/or the data communications system operation and connectivity in the event of individual component failures, and portrays the remaining redundancy.
Generally, an integrated display is provided that displays an overall xe2x80x9cpicturexe2x80x9d of system operation, including information relating to specific onboard components. In particular, the present invention includes an integrated navigation synoptic display and method of providing the same that displays the current state of all onboard navigation components and provides a graphical representation of the relationship between Actual Navigation Performance and RNP on a linear scale. The scale is automatically adjusted based on the values of the Actual Navigation Performance and RNP. Reversionary modes of the navigation system are provided in the event one or more components become inoperative or data from an external system (e.g., navigation radio transmitter or GPS) becomes unavailable.
An integrated display of the present invention also provides for displaying an xe2x80x9coverallxe2x80x9d picture of the current state of all onboard data communications components and provides a visual representation of which links are established, as well as what types of data are being transmitted, thus providing an integrated data communications synoptic display. Reversionary modes of the data communications system are provided in the event one or more components become inoperative.
An integrated display constructed according to the principles of the present invention provides an overall view of specific information (e.g., real-time fight information) relating to the navigation and/or communication systems onboard an aircraft. The display is adapted for providing information from a plurality of navigation and communication components onboard the aircraft on a single display screen. The display screen provides information from selected sources and includes a graphical portion having a graphical representation of the relationship between predetermined types of selected information. This may include a graphical representation of the relationship between Actual Navigation Performance and RNP. Further, visual representations identifying the sources of the information being displayed and indicating the status of the components communicating the information may also be provided.
With respect to providing navigation information from an onboard navigation system, visual representations provide status information regarding specific onboard components, with the relationship between actual data and a required acceptable deviation or limit (e.g., Actual Navigation Performance versus RNP) preferably displayed as concentric circles on an automatically adjusting linear scale. The concentric circles provide a relative indication of the difference in value between the information represented by the circles. When displaying Actual Navigation Performance versus RNP, a warning indication is preferably provided when the Actual Navigation Performance value exceeds a limit based upon the RNP value.
With respect to providing communication information from an onboard communication system, visual representations provide status and connectivity information. Preferably, active sources of information and data paths or links are highlighted on the display. Therefore, inactive sources and/or links are easily identified.
A display selector may be provided in combination with the present invention to select a specific display screen on an aircraft instrument panel on which to display information provided by the present invention (e.g., select one of a plurality of multifunction displays). Further, a display of the present invention provides alternate modes of operation in the event of a failure of one of the navigation and/or communication components onboard the aircraft.
Thus, the integrated display and method of providing the same displays of selected information from sources onboard an aircraft (e.g., onboard navigation and communication components). The invention provides an overall view of selected information and includes a graphical representation of the relationship between specific selected information (e.g., Actual Navigation Performance and RNP).
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.